


In Winter I Found You

by awintersrose, KriKee



Category: Naruto
Genre: Akatsuki Survive, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blindfolds, Established Relationship, Genderfluid Character, Infinite Tsukuyomi Fails, Kink Exploration, Light Dom/sub, M/M, Naruto Rare Pair Spring Kink Meme 2019, PTSD flashback, Rope Bondage, With a Side of Smut, a bit of angst, and a happy ending we swear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-11-12 01:13:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18000992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awintersrose/pseuds/awintersrose, https://archiveofourown.org/users/KriKee/pseuds/KriKee
Summary: Years after saving Obito from Madara's influence, Orochimaru decides that he and his partner should try something new. Boundaries are pushed and connections are made;  though they are blind to what the future holds for them, the couple reforge their relationship, stronger than ever. Winter’s memories may threaten to overtake them, but they fight back and find their fire.





	1. The Devil's in the Details

**Author's Note:**

> For the NRPS Spring Kink Meme prompt "Like Real People Do"
> 
> Special thanks to shipcat, whiteladydragon for input and beta support.

Their little lair is toasty warm and well protected against the chill outside. Obito hardly feels the harsh winds thanks to the care his partner put into repairing his mish-mashed body. He lands close to Orochimaru. 

"Today's been very nice; I think the world's finally starting to turn on its own now." he says, securing the door.   
  
Orochimaru smiles enigmatically. "And with that, many possibilities spring anew. It just takes patience, and careful attention to what lies ahead."   
  
Obito tucks a few locks of barely damp hair behind his partner’s ear and kisses Orochimaru's bare earlobe. "Scientist and schemer. You've been lazy today, though. That bath was long even for you."   
  
"You're learning me. That's good." Orochimaru sighs, leaning into the contact. "The cold outside makes me less inclined to action if I don't need to take it. Besides, I was overdue a lazy moment, as you say. You will benefit from it, no doubt. I am in a much better mood when I'm warm."   
  
Obito laughs, "I've noticed; it’s been a few years of working together and I do know how you react whenever you have to go to Frost. Or Kiri."   
  
"I know how to abide it, but neither are places I relish visiting when left to my own devices." Orochimaru touches his scarred cheek, stroking the lines he's grown to adore.   
  
Obito shivers and lays his hand over his lover's. "And when left to your own devices, where do you drift?"   
  
"Towards the warmth and heat of a fire...and perhaps one who knows how to fan the flame and keep it burning bright." Oro moves in to close the scant space between them, to run his nose along the side of the other's neck, breathing in the scent of smoke and spice clinging to Obito's skin.   
  
The Uchiha runs his fingers over Orochimaru's cheek; his pale skin so smooth and cool to his original hand. 

"Fire dies without air to sustain it," he murmurs. "I'll burn if you're near me."   
  
"Then burn, my dark firebrand, and warm us both." Orochimaru kisses the edge of his lips, still soft, even as they are chapped from the wind outside.   


Obito pulls the smaller man into a kiss and wraps hot chakra around them both with the slightest twitch of a finger. "Warm enough, serpent?"

At the suddenly glowing warmth, the snake Sannin twines his arms around Obito's neck, luxuriating in the feel of his body and the heat spun around them so quickly. When they touch like this, he never feels the cold.

Even so, he’ll put forth a challenge. "I could be warmer."   
  
"In our bed? But it's barely nine o'clock.” Obito teases, leering ever so slightly. "An old man like you does get tired so quickly though." 

"I never said anything about bed, Obito-kun. You youngsters really lack in imagination." Orochimaru smirks.   
  
"You wound me." He pouts. “Maybe we won't go to bed together tonight."   
  
"Making threats, are you? Why do something that only deprives us both of what we crave?"   
  
"You've said it yourself, though: I'll do anything to spite someone, even if it hurts me in turn."   


"It's good to understand how such things cut both ways."   
  
"Those are all the best weapons, though." The Uchiha points to himself, then Orochimaru and gestures vaguely towards the city outside.   


"Indeed, they are. Yet true power has its cost, though oftentimes..." 

The serpent leans in close. "That price is more than worth paying."   


Obito's smile is a little twisted, but he nods.

"What holds your thoughts captive right now, Obito-kun?" Orochimaru asks in a soft whisper.   


"Sometimes you're forced to pay the price when you didn't even want the power." Obito shakes his head. "I’d much rather think of why you want to avoid our bed."

Orochimaru recognizes the haunted look in Obito’s dark eyes, knows it well, and allows the subject to change without a fight.   
  
"It is not that I wish to avoid our bed exactly, but rather that so much is possible if we remain outside of it."   
  
"Do tell. I bow to your knowledge, O Wise One."   
  
Orochimaru laughs softly. "Oh come now, don't tell me you've never imagined coupling against the wall in the heat of the moment, over a chair, or by the literal fire? Or even...outside under a cloaking genjutsu if it were not so damned cold and wet out there."

"Well, yes. By the fire or with you up against a wall and screaming my name."   


"Oh? What else have you imagined, my dear?"   


"Touching. In public."

"How delightfully naughty. Perhaps we can find a way to make such things a reality, then?" Orochimaru's long fingers brush his jawline.   
  
"We should," he whispers, trapped in Orochimaru's gleaming gaze. "And in Kage offices too. Not like we'd ever be caught."   


"I do like a challenge." Oro grins, flashing fangs. Obito's temperature has spiked hotter, and he can feel it, tasting the rising desire in the air between them. "But for now, I rather want to feel your skin against my own, and for you to figure out what I was doing for so long in the bath."   


Obito’s smile grows. "You've been planning." He nips Oro's neck. "And there's going to be a wonderful surprise. Can you give me a hint?"

"Mmm...I'd rather you discover it on your own," Oro says raggedly, resolve crumbling with the sudden roughness.   


"Very well," Obito purrs, "but I want some more ideas out of you for things to try. I'm waiting..." 

He starts counting down with his fingers, a wide, bright grin on his face.   


"Ah, well...games of power, bondage, and sensation," Orochimaru says hurriedly, calling upon past experiences on honeypot missions and the like.

"Power and sensation?" Obito asks curiously.   


"One partner allowing the other to control them in a myriad of ways, using shows of dominance and submission. Sensation is what it sounds like - the use of touch, softness, sharpness, heat to draw up a reaction on a lover's skin."   


Obito's breathing quickens, and Orochimaru makes no attempt to hide a smile.

"You like that idea, don't you, Obito-kun?"

"Yes."   


"Is it me you want to control? Or is it you that wishes to yield?" Oro murmurs in a soft, lilting voice. "To be held in my grasp..."   
  
His fingers stroke the skin of Obito's neck, tracing the fluttering pulse. "...and pleasured until you can hardly take it."   


“Both," Obito mutters thickly, though the images in that precise moment are more of Oro under his control. "I want both."   


"Then you'll have both." Oro leans in to nip his earlobe, soothing with his tongue.   


"What would you do?"   
  
With a sultry smile, Orochimaru nudges Obito back until he's pressed against the wall. "I'd tease you with hands, lips, and tongue until you begged for completion. Then I'd bind your wrists..." 

He takes both Obito's wrists in his hands and presses them up against the wall. "...and steal your senses, until you earned them back by pleasing me."    
  
To drive the point home, Orochimaru places one hand over Obito's eyes, and the other lightly across his lips. "Blindfolds can be great fun."

Darkness all around him,  _ pain forte et dure _ on his chest, suffocating, choking and dying by inches. An agonizingly empty socket where his eye should be and copper, thick and sticky in the air, making him gag. Cruel hands dragging him below and binding, pulling, tearing him open and forcing wrongness into him. Screaming. 

Screaming until his voice his gone and the mountain echoes to the roots.    


The world twists, rips and he is behind Madara.

Obito seizes the monster's hands and hauls them up and back until the man's chest thrusts forward. He wraps a hand around Madara's in a grip of steel and clenches his free hand around Madara’s throat, fingers perfectly positioned to snap his neck

Orochimaru tries to maintain his composure as the air warps and shifts, and he finds himself facing the wall in a bruising chokehold. His lover's breathing has changed, his aura too, and fear sours the air, acrid and jarring. Something has triggered a memory, and a bad one.

Dark words din in Obito’s ears, months and years of warped kindness and training. Lies, lies, lies, lies, lies.

"You deserve to die." His grip tightens, milliseconds from snapping his tormentor's neck.

A slight frisson of fear strikes Orochimaru, but he knows that he can survive whatever may come like this. His lover is caught in a memory, a trauma, and he can only imagine who he is referring to with his anger. He calls upon his own composure and tries to talk Obito back to reality.    
  
"Obito-kun, my firebrand, my dear boy...I am not your enemy. I am not the traitor. You are safe, in our home, and you are loved."

"Liar!" But the words are enough to distract him from his justice. 

Obito shakes his head, driving falsehoods from his mind. The monster deserves a slow death. He starts squeezing.

Orochimaru's heart skips a beat, adrenaline coursing through his veins, somehow driven to a slight state of near delirium by the sensation of being held this way, but he forces himself to concentrate and to keep his lover from doing something he will regret.

"I am not a liar, and I am not your enemy. Touch me and know that I am not the one who hurt you. Feel me, Obito. You are home, you are safe, and you are free of Madara."

The Uchiha’s hands spasm, gripping harder at Orochimaru's hands and throat.

"Don't," he pleads.

For the serpent, it is becoming impossible to breathe, and harder to speak, and he begins to choke on his words. "I am Orochimaru, and I have shared your life for the last year, shared your love. You are home...and safe, please...try to remember."

A blade-sharp smile and mocking golden eyes cut through the dark fog. Obito gasps, loosening his hands and scant air flows into Orochimaru’s lungs, but his muscles are frozen stiff.

"Yes, Obito-kun, you know me now, I think. I am here and I will not allow you to come to harm. I acted thoughtlessly and frightened you. I will not make the same mistake again."

He leans against this...person. Clearly someone important - safe - and he drags in gasp after gasp of sweetly scented air. It's warm.

Orochimaru can breathe again, and when Obito's arms loosen enough he turns and wraps his arms around the taller man, blood still singing with the rush of what just transpired.

"You're safe, my precious boy. Know me, and know that I won't let him have you. He's gone."

"He's gone." Obito repeats out endlessly, clinging to his partner.

Finally, that strange spell passes and the memories fade. Obito falls quiet, thinking back on the words.   
  
That'll be for later.   
  
He hugs his partner desperately, and Orochimaru runs his fingers through Obito's hair, breathing deeply. "You're with me now."   
  
"Promise. Promise it’s not a dream. That I didn't make you up."

"I am very real, I promise you did not make me up. I am your partner though we have not always seen eye to eye in years past. I joined with your cause, and discovered that you were caught in his lies, under his control." Orochimaru looks into his eyes, gaze unwavering. "And I helped you break free. We are together now. Lovers for the last year."   
  
"He's dead. We're okay?"   
  
"Oh yes. We are thriving. And he'll never touch you again."

"No one?"

"No one will touch you. Not without your express consent."

"You promise."   
  
"I promise, Obito-kun."

"You won't ever do those things? Nor leave me?"

"No, Obito. Not unless you wish it to be so."

Fast as lightning, "I don't."

"Then I remain at your side."

"You'll stay. No matter what?" Obito leans in, digging his fists into Orochimaru's light yukata, readying himself.   
  
"I will," Orochimaru says, looking into his eyes.

He kisses his lover with all the sincerity he can muster, melding their bodies into one with his whole strength. All unnoticed, Obito pulls Orochimaru's obi away from his slender waist and wraps it around his fists. Now that the terror is gone, Obito remembers (albeit with some shame) how still Oro had become in his complete helplessness and how there was the spike of something heady running deep in his lover's chakra that Obito wants to draw out again.

And well...Oro scared him, so he'll just...turn those words and ideas back upon him. Obito prepares to strike the instant they part for breath.

Orochimaru, on the other hand, loses himself in the kiss, relieved that Obito has regained himself. Then he's caught abruptly in bonds made from the silk of his own obi and a new thrill courses down his spine.   
  
"Remember what you said earlier, my snake?” Obito purrs, wrenching at his own obi.

"Which part, my firebrand?" Orochimaru asks, blinking slowly, a new haze settling over the golden brilliance of his eyes.

"All of it. You'll get it. Blind first."   


“Oh. _Oh._ " 


	2. Coming Undone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For the NRPS Spring Kink Meme prompt "Like Real People Do"
> 
> Special thanks to shipcat, whiteladydragon for input and beta support.

Obito binds the serpent’s wrists in an inextricable knot. Only brute force will free him - and, a tiny, tiny, deliberate part of his mind knows that Orochimaru can rip through silk as if it were a web - and to prevent that he presses his full weight into the slighter man. That same analytical part of his mind notes that his lover has put on a good amount of weight in the last year, but something tells him Orochimaru will obey.

With intention, Obito digs his elbows into Orochimaru's shoulders and he wraps the obi around the serpent's head until there is absolutely no slack, and he knots it firmly.

"How does it feel, snake, to be so helpless?" Obito’s words are acidic, and his touch harsh, but his fingertips caress the faint indent the obi leaves in Orochimaru’s skin, checking for true discomfort. Just because he's going to have his fun doesn't mean he ever wants anyone to suffer the way he did.

"It feels better than I thought it might,” Orochimaru admits quietly, heat slowly turning within his chest as his darkened sight amplifies all his other senses.  
  
Obito’s chuckle is dark and dry. “Who’d have thought my Sannin would enjoy being so helpless? I could do anything I wanted to you. Tie you to the wall and leave you there ‘til I choose to come back. Better yet - tie you to our bed and take my fill of you anytime I wanted. You'd never even see it coming."

He slips his hand through the loop of Orochimaru's arms and drags him forward without warning. The Sannin lets himself be manhandled, somehow reveling in the treatment as it makes his head spin sweetly. He wants to see where this will go.

"Do as you wish," he whispers.

Orochimaru’s yukata flutters open with the suddenness of the movement, and within Obito's gaze that flash of pale skin is tempting beyond measure. But it's his lover's words that finalise his every thought.

"Snake, you're my captive. You never had a say in any of it." At that utterance, Obito drags his nails down Orochimaru's chest, pausing to bite the tempting line of his collarbone and fondle him madly. Pushing his lover's limits to see where it becomes pain.

"I'll rip that modest fundoshi of yours too. Gag you with it perhaps," he taunts with no real intention of doing so, pressing the hard line of Orochimaru's cock and rolling it between his fingers.

Hot tension coils in Orochimaru's belly, his excitement whirling higher with each sharp word. The pain draws a hiss from between his teeth, and the teasing pushes him further towards arousal, inner muscles clenching and reminding him of what he had done to prepare for Obito's arrival. The surprise that awaits his lover if he'd only take the time to look.

"I am yours to use how you see fit then, aren't I?"

"Yes. Nothing more than a toy to play with and a mind to use as I wish," Obito croons and draws Orochimaru all over their home, moving swiftly, only looking back to make sure Oro doesn't bump into a door frame.

How much can he disorient his partner before he gets taken to the bedroom? Obito’s mind rushes ahead. There are real ropes in their weapons chest, and he doesn't want a single clone involved (this time - he's had some thoughts that he didn't get to explain) so he'll have to be swift once he has his serpent where he wants him. He drags his partner through their home one last time for good measure before he opens the door to their bedroom and throws Orochimaru onto the bed.

Orochimaru's back hits the mattress and he makes a surprised sound, wondering what is yet to come. His younger lover has never been quite so commanding before, and it's a heady thing to be controlled in a way that he actually enjoys. He can feel the air on his belly and legs and knows Obito will make short work of his clothing. He can sense the Uchiha's chakra in his mind's eye, smell him near, feel the heat of his body in the doorway.

Obito takes out several spools of their good rope and a wickedly sharp kunai and he hesitates momentarily. Just his arms, or his legs too?  
  
The anticipation is unnerving and his skin is growing cold. Orochimaru fidgets on the bed, trying to curb the taunting jibes he wants to say when Obito prowls up to the head of the bed, places his hand on Orochimaru’s chest, and draws the kunai through his bonds. The sound of the knife through silk and the pressure of Obito's body over him makes goosebumps rise along his body. Shame. He loved that obi.

Swifter than his sensei’s infamous speed, Obito has his partner's wrists in hand again. He ties them very carefully and precisely to the headboard, then taps the kunai hilt upon Orochimaru's lips.

"Are you going to resist me? I saw you moving," he taunts. "But you're too weak and wanting to fight back. Isn't that right?"  
  
"Possibly, but right now I do not want to resist you. It is hopeless to do so."

 _Well then_ , Obito thinks, _let's see about that._ He takes his sweet, sweet time dragging the rope over his lover's body. The roughness of rope passing over his skin makes Orochimaru's breath catch in his throat. It tickles and scrapes, and a slight gasp escapes him as it passes across the tender skin of his neck and throat. Will Obito steal his breath again?

Slowly, Obito trails the rope from slender hips up to the graceful column of Orochimaru’s neck, where bruises are already blooming and he stops, aghast. The rope laying over his neck accentuates the lurid red and purple and the bruises - the bruises Obito made - set his skin crawling as if someone’d walked over his grave.  
  
He rips the rope away and staggers a silent step back, eyes flashing into the mangekyo and staring at Orochimaru's face for his every micro-expression.

"Obito-kun?"

That's not a hint of fear or pain in Orochimaru's face, just...the same look he gets watching a pet project seconds before it springs to life.

Obito smiles in relief and steps forward again, silently. He pulls the rope taut and hovers it over the crown of Orochimaru's head, waiting for the right second to slowly slip it beneath his lover's head and around the skin of his neck.  
  
Orochimaru bites his lip and remains still, waiting to feel what Obito will do. The threat of the rope makes him shiver, though not from cold. Even if he _is_ getting colder bared to the open air like this.

He snakes the rope around Orochimaru's neck and pulls it snug. The wry thought that it would almost match Orochimaru's oversized rope obi flashes through his mind and he laughs despite himself.

"A rope around your neck, stealing the breath from you and you don't even move," he croons, "but is that common sense or foolishness?"  
  
"I suppose that is for you to decide, but the longer I lie here cold, the more likely I am to _fight back_ ," Orochimaru replies with poisonous sweetness.

"Whatever happened to the obedient snake who said I could do as I wish?" Obito mocks even as he straddles the smaller man's hips and grinds down onto his excited cock.  
  
"He's still here, merely waiting for you to do as you've threatened, growing cold in the meantime," the Sannin groans as Obito shifts his weight.

Without another word, Obito shreds Orochimaru's yukata and uses the thick cotton to spread his partner's legs wide open, wrapping the destroyed material firmly around the bedposts. As consent to his lover's chill, he drops a blanket over Orochimaru up to the middle of his thighs and crawls up over his helpless form to the rope left dangling around Orochimaru’s neck. Obito pulls it tight by small increments, memorising every second of joy and control with his Sharingan.

"You won't get more until you're begging," he sing-songs, switching the rope to one hand and raking his nails over Orochimaru's chest.  
  
_More clothing sacrificed to lust,_ Orochimaru thinks, before all thought is driven from his mind and the pressure practically melts his spine, sparks of something intoxicating shimmering over his skin.

"Kami," he breathes, gasping as sharpness brings him back to awareness.  
  
A broad smile crosses Obito’s face. "Yes, I am your god." He pulls the rope more snugly around Orochimaru's neck and, on instinct, bites the crook of his neck.

Pretenses ripped away, Orochimaru moans openly, spine bowing off the mattress at the heat of Obito's mouth and the pressure at his throat. Something about the edge to this moment stirs his arousal even more and though he wants to fight it, he wants more, as much as his lover will give.  
  
"You like this," Obito says triumphantly. "You like your life in my hands to give you to death or give you what you need."

He pulls the rope very tight for a few brief seconds, enough to see Orochimaru struggle and gasp before letting go to kiss him. "Just like so."

The brief moment of pure adrenaline that makes him wonder if he truly ought to fight back leaves his entire body tingling, and when Obito kisses him the tingling turns to fire.

"Perhaps...yes," he gasps, panting hard.

He ties the rope around Orochimaru's neck in a parody of a necklace and makes his harsh way down the pale expanse of his body. Biting and scratching aren't exactly new to them, but every move is remade into something fresh and unique - it’s as if he is learning the other man all over again. Obito wraps his arms around Orochimaru, squeezing tight to rake his nails down the Sannin's unmarred skin.

"You're my partner. My lover. Mine."

The words leave Orochimaru shaken as Obito has never made such a claim with genuine conviction before, and it's all he can do not to wrench himself free and embrace his lover.

His awestruck bewilderment is cut short, as Obito takes off Orochimaru's fundoshi with shocking tenderness given the atmosphere. Even so he is hasty, throwing it towards Orochimaru's head, uncaring of where it lands in search of his prize. He spits on his hand and loosely works the Sannin’s rigid length up and down, getting more lubricant from Orochimaru's pre-come, but it won't be enough for what he wants. Even knowing his partner enjoys some roughness, he's not going to take Oro dry.

And they left their lube in the damn bathroom.  
  
Still, it can't hurt to play a little. Obito strokes his lover's cock and reaches down to fondle his balls and massage the thin skin behind them. And he pauses. Was that...?

More deliberately this time, he massages the space between Orochimaru's groin and arse.  
  
"See something you like?" The serpent’s taunt is nearly cut short, edging on a groan.

"Orochimaru?" Obito whispers.

"Yes, Obito-kun?"  
  
"You were doing something else in the bath, weren't you?

"I told you as much, didn't I?" Orochimaru can't help but smirk even as another soft groan escapes his lips as Obito continues to touch him intimately.  
  
"You prepared yourself, yes?"  
  
"I did. Thoroughly."

"And how does it feel, my lover, knowing that you did all this for me, and now I can choose to leave it in you or take my fill of you? Why," he adds whimsically, "I could do as those ridiculous stories say and plug you back up afterwards."

Even as he says this he fumbles at the plug, getting his fingers around the base and slowly, slowly pulling it out. To find that it's wooden.  
  
"Orochimaru? Did you stick that plug...I thought you weren't interested after that first time."

"That would be your choice, but depriving me will deprive you too,” Orochimaru says, voice growing breathy, moaning low as Obito plays, nearly pulling it out, and pressing it slowly back inside him. "I wanted to try again. T-to surprise you. It is an effective use of the toy you made."

"I'm certainly surprised. Happy, too.” Obito pulls the toy out with a wet pop and pushes two fingers deep without warning or pause. He crooks his fingers immediately and twists his hand to get the perfect angle.

"I am..ahhh...glad!" Oro finally cries out as deft fingertips graze his prostate and send lightning flashing through his groin.  
  
With a devious grin, Obito hits Orochimaru's pleasure centre again and again. "You'll be begging before I really get started," he reminds his lover, enjoying the bright flush deepening over his cheeks and chest.

"Kami, Obito!" Orochimaru's head lashes back and forth upon the pillow, his hips angling into every touch and and nearly seeing stars. "Yes..."

Obito pulls his fingers out, tracing Orochimaru's slick hole with feather-light touches. Then he lowers his head to lick Orochimaru from root to tip, which elicits an immediate cry from the smaller man’s lips.

"Obi--I want you inside me." he gasps.

"You're not begging yet," Obito sing-songs, slipping his fingers back into Orochimaru's fluttering passage and drumming them against his inner walls.

"I need you!" Orochimaru grits his teeth as pleasure roils through his belly, but it’s not enough - and it is not in union with his lover. _"Please."_  
  
At the tenor of his plea, Obito grins.

"You'll get your wish." he says, dropping his trousers and boxers in one swift move, before plunging deep inside his lover’s ready passage, moaning as Orochimaru’s damning tightness clenches around his length.

Orochimaru yells in both triumph and surprise as he's filled with that single snap of Obito's hips, gripping the ropes and using the momentum to try to wrap his ankles around his lover's waist.

_"Yesss..."_

Obito rocks his hips back and forth, angling himself in exactly the way he knows will bring them both to the brink and rapidly. He takes everything slow but deep, bottoming out again and again, withdrawing completely only to slide back in again. All of their play has wrought havoc on his control, and for all of his inexperience with these games, Obito knows exactly how to drive Orochimaru straight to the edge and he's nearly there, moaning unintelligible praises.  
  
Obito comes with a last snap of his hips and a guttural moan; he spends himself inside Orochimaru and drops onto him. Orochimaru whines softly, held at the pinnacle of pleasure and unable to bring himself off, his entire body pulling taut against the ropes. Obito stirs himself and wraps his hand around Oro’s leaking cock.

"You're coming, too. _Now,_ " he commands, and Orochimaru arches, tensing hard, overstimulated and desperate.

Two rough strokes of his lover's hand have him coming with a ragged cry, heat spilling over them both.

"Good, good Orochimaru." Obito pats Oro's chest, too tired and spent from their bout of glorious sex to get up just yet. "That was amazing. You were amazing."

"As were you...you surprised me," Orochimaru laughs softly, collapsing against the pillows, skin tingling, muscles lax.  
  
"You...deserved it for scaring me. Revenge," Obito admits. "But I wasn't expecting you to be...so obedient or to like the rope around your neck. And the plug was definitely a surprise."

"I did not mean to scare you, Obito, but I am glad you enjoyed my surprise. As for the rope… that was a new sensation entirely." Orochimaru admits, voice slightly hoarse.  
  
Obito props himself up on the mattress and runs his fingers over the bruises slowly forming around the sides of Oro's neck, gazing at the two deep bruises right under his jaw.

"It doesn't excuse that I hurt you." he says seriously, "I'm glad you talked me out of it or I'd never have forgiven myself." Obito shrugs off the moment, "The rest of it though - I want to do it again."  
  
"I'm not that easily killed, my dear. I will heal, and I do not hold it against you. I consent to trying this again if and when you wish it." Orochimaru smiles. Obito’s chakra feels warm behind his eyes.  
  
Obito laughs wryly, "Whatever look you're giving me under that obi isn't quite getting through."

He pokes the blindfold and gives it a few tugs. Too lazy to truly undo the knot, he uses the barest touch of chakra on his fingernails to slice the blindfold away. "Better?"

Dark lashes flutter a moment before Orochimaru fixes Obito in his gaze and his smile grows wider. "Much better. You look well satisfied. I like this look on you."

Obito purposely examines his partner's spreadeagled, bitten, scratched, and come-splattered body, combined with his smugly tired, open expression. "I like this look on you, too."

The Sannin laughs softly. "I am certain you do. Your ravaged captive still seemingly helpless before you."  
  
"Satisfied, used and..." Obito tilts his head. "Softer? Changed." 

"Perhaps…for now. Though you must know only you have been permitted to see this version of me."  
  
"I don't want anyone else to ever see you like this." Obito finally withdraws with a sigh, waving the plug at Orochimaru half-threateningly before setting it to the side, then releases his partner.  

"No aches?" He rubs Orochimaru's wrists and pulls the smaller man to his chest.  
  
"Perhaps some small ones, but they are the kind of aches I wish to keep." Orochimaru grins, cuddling close.

For a moment they are quiet, until the Uchiha’s curiosity can’t abide another second, and true to form, he has to fill the silence with words.

"What was your favourite part?" Obito asks, running his hands through Orochimaru's sweaty hair. His voice drops to a whisper. "I quite liked hearing you beg...and seeing you powerless before me." 

"I liked the sound of your voice when you discovered my surprise...but the rope was especially exciting. Your stealing my breath," Orochimaru says, long fingers tracing over Obito’s jawline.

"Ropes, being choked and surprising me," Obito repeats. "Next time we can use proper ropes instead of our clothes.”

Orochimaru looks at the rags left lying on the bed. "The ropes at my wrists and neck certainly felt real enough. You owe me an obi and yukata, by the way."

"Yeah," Obito chuckles, "I do. I ruined one of my own as well. Maybe I'll get you something to remind you of me."  
  
"Oh? Staking a claim, are you?" Orochimaru stretches and bites his lip, his fingertips continuing their path over a map of scars and textures he’s grown to love.  
  
"I've already staked one." Obito flicks the wooden toy beside them with a dull tap. "You were the one to plug yourself up for me, too. You're my lover."

He moves abruptly to cage Orochimaru in his arms. “You want me inside you. Always." A bright laugh. "Or at least the memories of it and a few bruises and marks."  
  
"Mmm, I never thought I'd like the sound of that, but I do. I really do," Orochimaru replies, peering up at Obito from under his lashes.  
  
Obito’s eyebrows shoot up. "You like the idea of being claimed?"

"It has a certain appeal, yes." Orochimaru smirks, gripping Obito's broad shoulders. "And no one's ever been brave enough to try."

"Anyone brave enough to date you should be brave enough to claim you."

"True enough, but does that mean you've always been up to the challenge?"

"Mmmm, I was planning on killing you at one point. Practiced for hours every week. I guess in a way I was up to the challenge, but it never really occurred to me."

Orochimaru laughs, gesturing to their position. "Fighting you made me feel alive. Funny games fate plays; this was something I never imagined. I gave up a very long time ago, but you already know that."

"I still can't believe that we're together, given - well - everything," Obito says.

"Yes, well...we realized a bond as kindred spirits, perhaps," Orochimaru muses.

"Betrayed, bitter, spiteful, manipulative," Obito lists off. "And having grand ideas."  
  
"Indeed. Some things may never change, but I think you know this."

"I wouldn't want you to be anything but what you are," Obito says instantly.  
  
Orochimaru glances up at him with wide eyes. "Is that so? Truly?"

"Of course." he says, "Why wouldn't I? You're vicious, probably the smartest shinobi in recorded history or very close to it, strategic, kind and funny."

"Kind?" Orochimaru laughs. "Hardly."  
  
"You're kind to me. To your teammates. You were kind to Anko and Nawaki," he points out. "Probably others, too. Just because you're not traditionally kind doesn't mean you're not. You're hardly traditionally anything. Orochi...maru. You're you. You never tried to change me."

"That may possibly be the nicest thing anyone has ever said with regards to me, you know," Orochimaru says quietly. "I don't think it's kindness. I'm just practical, but I won't argue with you."

Obito draws on eavesdropped discussions long past and often dismissed. "Good; I might have to punish you."

"Punish me?" Orochimaru looks at him with golden eyes that are half-perplexed but also amused.  
  
Obito gives a crooked smile that pulls at his scars, his dark eyes dancing with humor. "For arguing with me, when I clearly know better."

"I see, Uchiha-sama." Orochimaru grins. "So I should defer to your good sense and general prowess?"  
  
"Oh, I like that," he says with true feeling. "Maybe you should, Orochimaru-chan. I'm sure I can find a way to ensure you do."  
  
Orochimaru rolls his eyes at the diminutive form of address but edges closer. "I’ll admit, I'm curious about your methods."

"Certainly, you'd need to be reminded of my presence, so you'd be marked head to toe with marks - maybe a spanking to remind you when you sit down. Maybe I would make you wear the plug as long as you can." Obito shrugs. "Or simpler things. Seal up your labs for a few days."

Not that he ever would. Orochimaru would either kill him or break his heart.

The serpent raises a finely arched brow. "You've certainly a new taste for these games, I see. Perhaps we'll see if your actions follow your bold words?"

"I don't know what I'm doing," Obito says in a truly rare fit of honestly, "but that's happened before as well and I don't think it turned out too badly. So Orochimaru-kun, are you going to keep arguing with your lover about how kind you are?" He kisses the corner of Orochimaru’s mouth.

Orochimaru sighs. "I suppose not. For now. I'm a bit too comfortable to risk punishment."  
  
He buries Orochimaru's face in the crook of his arms. "Likewise, snake. But thanks, for going along. And helping."  
  
"I protect that which I cherish. I would not have you harmed by even a ghost of the past. You are free of him. And are now mine."

"You're mine and I'm yours." Obito mulls it over. "Yeah, I like that. But no ropes. No blindfolds."  
  
"I will not use such things on you. But I may bind you with words. Words would be fun, and you liked when I mentioned sensations."  
  
"I'd like to try that, yes.”

"So we shall, and I can finish seeing the look in your eyes from before things went sideways. But I regret nothing about tonight apart from frightening you."

Obito’s gaze lowers. "And you know my regret."

Orochimaru lifts a hand to his scarred cheek and raises his gaze once more. "All is well."

"Don't tell me it didn't scare you. I know how you are about betrayal."  
  
"I have seen shinobi lost in the trap of a painful memory. It is common among those who survive trauma. You did not betray me. I knew I could get you through it...and something about being so overwhelmed pulled a reaction from me I had not known before."

"Good enough to try again without the pain and the fact that I could have killed you?"

"Just so. And surely you don't think I would die so easily?"  
  
"Surprise takes even the greatest, most powerful shinobi. Madara, Tobirama, Hashirama....Minato."

"That is true, I suppose," Orochimaru says quietly, fingers drifting along Obito's sternum, where the texture of his skin changes.

Obito shivers, half shying away even after all this time before moving deliberately back into the touch. "There are words, I know that; words to stop something."

"What words?"

"Safe ones. I've been around a bit. If you say a certain word - red - then it all stops. I want that," Obito says firmly.  
  
"You wish for me to say a word if I am...uneasy with the activity? Easy enough. You surprise me...playing coy about games of power, but you know about safe words."

"I...it applies to most things, though. Sparring and training, and I have been through bars and brothels often enough to find things out. That, and Kakuzu’s antics..."

"Ah, I see. Well, should an instance come about where it is needed, I will say it. Like if you put ice on me. Which you won't do," Orochimaru says adamantly.

Obito sighs, "I know you don't like the cold. I have experience living with you. I don't know why you hate it so much aside from running cooler than most and being shit at fire jutsu, but I'd never use ice on you. Except perhaps if we were sparring."  
  
"Cold is painful and puts me on edge. It's quite simple. Now you know a secret no one else does, save my old teammates."  
  
"I'll keep it. Just as you'll keep mine."

"Indeed I will." Orochimaru whispers, nuzzling closer to the heat of Obito's body.  
  
"And maybe we'll try something like this soon. Maybe something more," Obito repeats.

"I see someone is eager. I like that."

"As if you're not," he whispers, running a hand over Orochimaru's hip.  
  
"You've learned me well, my dear," the Sannin murmurs, brushing his lips against Obito's pulse point and twining one leg over his lover's.  
  
"And you've learned me, too. Though that was a surprise to both of us."  
  
"A good surprise, in the end."  
  
"Very good. And my Sharingan was active for most of it, so I can replay it whenever I want," Obito gloats. "I could even show you what I was seeing and feeling."

"I think I would like to see that. To experience what you saw."

In a matter of seconds, the Uchiha flicks his fingers through the well-trained sequence and plunges Orochimaru into a genjutsu from his own point-of-view.

The memory is like he is sharing Obito's skin...his excitement. Orochimaru watches himself writhe and beg, taken completely. The sensation of living Obito's memory is erotic beyond compare. And Obito watches his lover's reactions, spellbound by his complete openness and obvious excitement and arousal.

The scene ends with Orochimaru watching Obito bring him to that intense orgasm, and it's as if he's feeling the combinations of both of their pleasure.  
  
Obito lets the genjutsu continue for a little longer and breaks Orochimaru out of it with gentle touches and whispers. "How was that, snake?"  
  
"Erotic...arousing. I felt everything you did. It was very...intimate."  
  
"Something to do again, then? Maybe - "

Obito cuts himself off and drops Orochimaru into a modified genjutsu showing a montage of their romantic and intimate moments, each coming one after the other in a flood.

Orochimaru is caught up in every thrilling, scintillating moment of their loveplay. It is pure sensory overload, but so delicious he's not sure he wants it to stop. He sees Obito's memories laid bare, his feelings, his experiences, and the significance of this sharing makes it all the more euphoric.

Obito slows the rush down bit by bit to bring Orochimaru out of it naturally, ending with their tender moments after their recent bout of sex. The moment his lover's eyes clear and his serpentine pupils start to narrow again, he kisses Oro softly.

"You'll show me things from your perspective soon?"  
  
"You...you want this?" Orochimaru breathes.

"Not the game we just played," he says hesitantly. "I don't think I'd react well even though you loved it, but everything - everything up to the moment I blindfolded you is good. But you know I want to be with you, surely."

"I know you say so, but I didn't expect that you felt...this much. You told me truly," Orochimaru says softly, a little staggered. Words are wind, but this was more than words could ever say.  
  
"Of course I did! Idiot!" Obito snaps. "You saved me and did so much to convince me to step away from Madara's path. You were a friend, and then more. Didn't you believe me?" His voice takes on a wounded tone.  
  
"Believing is different than knowing without doubt, Obito-kun. And there will always be those who think I somehow coerced you to my side, even when it was you who pursued me."

"Then I'll show them my actions. Except those times I spied on you changing or in the bath," he adds conscientiously, "Those are mine."

Orochimaru's jaw drops, and he hides his grin against Obito's skin. "You spied on me?"

A pause as he holds his partner close, "Minato told us enough stories about his teacher that I knew what to do. It was easier with my abilities."  
  
Orochimaru laughs softly. "Just when I think you could not possibly surprise me more...when was this?"  
  
"Within a few days of approaching you? The reason changed over time."

"So for years?"  
  
"Yes?" Obito’s eyes dart to the side sheepishly.  
  
"I never knew," Orochimaru smirks. "Gods, what a little pervert you've been."

He leans up to kiss him, anyway.  
  
Obito blushes. "I needed to gather information. And...blackmail." He grimaces.  
  
"I see you adopted Jiraiya's reasonings too, then. Get anything good for blackmail?" Now he's thoroughly amused.  
  
"I know that you sometimes wear women's clothing. Especially underwear. Lots of makeup and other women's things," Obito says. "I learnt that within a week. I was planning to use it to show everyone that you were a freak," he admits very shamefully.

"And why didn't you? Would not be the first time someone tried."  
  
"I had a second thought after that. More selfish."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"I thought to blackmail you into...other things. To keep you closer and doing my every whim, but that would necessitate more than just cross-dressing. So I waited and followed you."

"You were a teenager. I would not have allowed it," Orochimaru says firmly.  
  
"Teenagers tend to think stupidly," Obito admits. "Either way, I saw you henge as a woman - I thought you were doing it for a reason, but you just did your normal things. That...changed things."

"In what way?"

"I thought you might've been doing it on purpose, but you weren't. I guess you just...showed another way to be? I didn't know such a thing could happen and you made me want to learn more." Obito laughs, "A specimen that showed unusual behaviors and needed more study. I couldn't be sure if you were really a man in the first place or actually a woman. It was interesting and I wanted to learn which it was."

"It is refreshing to know it made you want to understand me rather than proceed in blackmailing or mock me. Most people don't think that way," Orochimaru says.

"I wanted to use it against you still," he says, "But then watching you for my own sake became...entertaining."

"I see."  
  
"When did things change for you?"  
  
"What do you mean?"

"When did you care for me?"  
  
"As an individual I wished to understand and protect - once I discovered you were not in fact Madara. I do not come to harbor affection for anyone easily -  I had to learn your mind first - but I came to value you as a peer and a friend, a confidante of sorts. When you began to pursue me, things began to change bit by bit. You were quite persuasive, stubborn, and despite all good sense regarding social mores, and so forth, I became attracted to who I knew behind the mask."  
  
"Can't say I don't like where we ended up. Though I hope you'll decide to be a woman around me sometimes now you know I know and don't care."

"Perhaps that might be arranged," Orochimaru says, face softening. "I didn't know you ever wanted that."  
  
"You're you." Obito says simply, "I don't like that you don't trust me enough to show me that. You're my partner."

"Then I will show you. When I need it again."

"When you're a woman," Obito agrees, pushing Orochimaru's hair back again and kissing the tip of his nose. "Because I do love you."

Orochimaru's cheeks flush, still not always accustomed to such tenderness, but he is learning.  
"And I, you," he whispers, still awestruck at the acceptance, the desire, and the warmth that seems as though it may never die out.

"We're both awful dorks," Obito says.

"Speak for yourself, Uchiha," Orochimaru says, hiding a slight chuckle.  
  
"I am. And speaking for you too, you nerd."

Orochimaru rolls his eyes. "Fine. But you do seem to like it well enough."

"I do at that."

"Good."

"I think it's time for us both to sleep, though I wouldn't say no to another round after a nap. I want to see some of your memories, first."

"It won't be as vivid a picture as yours. Alas, I have no Sharingan. Tell me what you want to see most."

"The same things I showed you, especially today as you prepared yourself. Not after the blindfold, but everything before that is fair game."  
  
Oro spins a genjutsu easily, showing the events prior to Obito's arrival home. How he thoroughly oiled his skin and pleasured himself, knowing what he wanted for their evening together. Their reunion, the teasing, talking. The harsh moments and the sweet, up to Obito winding the obi around his wrists and exposing his body.  
  
Obito breaks out with a shudder. "I don't know how you like being tied like that, but it doesn't seem as bad now. Still don't want it, but I can understand." He leers, "You like being controlled. Maybe one of my old ideas could come true in a way afterwards."

"How so?" Oro smirks.  
  
"I had thoughts about blackmailing you into obedience, realised it wouldn't work - I did mention I was a stupid teenager - and thought I could put you under a long-lasting genjutsu to make you believe you were mine and that I could do anything I wanted to." His grin is crooked and oddly innocent despite his despicable words.

"You like control that much, do you? Perhaps one day we'll take a small holiday and see what comes of it."

"I was literally going to control the world. Still am, a little," he points out, then perks up. "Really? We can try it? And you'd do everything I said?"

"For a limited amount of time and negotiated beforehand, yes."

"A couple of days? And you're free to sleep as yourself?"

"I am willing to try it. For the sake of discovery."

"I'm tempted to start, right now," he says, "but I won't for awhile. I think I'll tell you before we do anything like that. Don't want to surprise you with something like that."  
  
"Yes, please don't. I have many projects dependent on my attention, and to be forced to neglect them...I would not be very happy with that, if you catch my meaning." Orochimaru eyes him with a look as sharp as a blade.  
  
"Nothing that will interfere with your projects," he assures Orochimaru. "You'd always be allowed to do that. Well, not unless we sorted some out ahead of time."

"You are right that I will always be allowed to do that, because my actions are my own unless negotiated otherwise. You are getting a bit too eager, Obito-kun."  
  
"You know what I mean," he says. "I plan everything carefully for my plots, but when it's you, all my plans fall to pieces and leave me little more than I am: someone who is still sometimes late, often vicious and bad with words. You leave me tongue-tied - or the verbal opposite."

Orochimaru traces his cheek and bottom lip with his fingertips. "I suppose I will take that for a compliment, then. Just remember that one must walk before they run when it comes to these games. I like what we've shared, and I am amenable to more of it, but we must talk it through first, yes?"  
  
"I was a late walker, you know. They - were always complaining that I went from being a slow, stupid child to running and getting myself into trouble every time they turned around…makes sense I'm the same, now."

"I was also a late walker. Hardly a measure of potential. We have both overcome obstacles of the past, yes? This, we do together."  
  
"I didn't know that," he says. "Maybe we have more in common than we thought? We don't really talk about what happened when we were younger - and the age thing, too - but maybe we should."

"Perhaps we should, yes."  
  
"Now or tomorrow?"  
  
"Tomorrow. Should you not be called away, I have the day to myself."

"I'll be busy if anyone comes."  
  
"Then we shall take time together to... talk more than we usually do."

"Maybe think of some questions as well, but we can choose not to answer them."  
  
"Yes, that works."

He yawns. "Good. It'll give us something to do over breakfast."

"Tired, my dear?"

"A bit. Must be getting old myself."

Orochimaru thumps his arm, but rests more heavily upon Obito's chest. "Yes, well, with age comes knowledge, and experience."

"Then maybe we'll let that experience guide us." He rests his hand on the back of Orochimaru's head and presses it gently to his chest.

Sleep finds them both easily for once, free of old ghosts, and unwanted memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! We hope you enjoyed it - please leave us a kudos or a comment if you can <3

**Author's Note:**

> Looks like Obito's got some ideas up his sleeve...
> 
> Thank you for reading! We hope you enjoyed it - please leave us a kudos or a comment if you can <3


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